By Rhett Eisenberg The St. Joseph News-PressPosted: October 27, 2017 - 11:57 PM

In the bitter cold and with the wind in its face, East Buchanan’s pass-heavy offense continued to churn out results.

East Buchanan will move onto its second straight Class 1 District 7 championship game after defeating West Platte 26-10 on Friday night at East Buchanan High School.

The Bulldogs (9-2) scored three touchdowns in the second half after their offense became stagnant late in the first.

On their first drive of the third quarter, Conner Karl caught a 20-yard bomb from Tyler Schottel. The senior’s grab seemed to put the East Buchanan offense back-on-track.

“We talked about all week long that they lacked some depth,” Bryan said. “We knew we needed to push the tempo and wear them down in the second half. “So we knew if we could push that tempo in the first half and cause them to wear a little bit then we might have a chance in the second half.”

Karl and Schottel would connect again in the fourth quarter. Karl carried three defenders on his way to a game-sealing touchdown in the final minutes.

Schottel passed for 193 yards while completing 17 of 23 passes. The senior quarterback showed off his versatility with 32 yards and a touchdown on the ground as well.

Seth Kenagy continues his stellar senior season. He had four receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown after going past 1,000 yards last week.

The Bulldogs pulled away with a win despite three turnovers and fumbling the ball four times.

Grant Eagen scored West Platte’s only touchdown on a 75-yard kickoff return. The Bluejays (2-9) only managed 170 yards. Quarterback Noah Johnson led the way on the ground with 56 yards on 16 carries. Their offense looked as though they’d found a groove after capping a seven-play drive with a field goal to end the first half.